NUTRITION ▶▶▶
Impact Exposure to multiple contaminated feedstuffs may cause a toxic response and clinical signs to appear. However, these signs may be difficult to detect as risk is affected by many fac- tors including duration of exposure, threshold level, animal status and environmental factors. Effects such as reduced nutrient absorption and metabolism, reduced feed intake and lower levels of fertility, immunity and productivity may be caused by higher levels of microbiologi- cal presence and mycotoxins compromising feed quality.
human health. These bacteria primarily enter the chain through faecal material when slurry is used as a fertiliser or during harvesting when silages are contaminated with soil-borne pathogens.
Moulds con- sume valuable nutrients and tend to produce harmful mycotoxins.
Moulds and mycotoxins Moulds consume feed and silage nutrients, degrade the qual- ity of the feed and tend to produce mycotoxins as the moulds metabolise. Mycotoxins can reduce nutrient absorption and therefore negatively impact animal performance, potentially compromising feed and food safety. Increased humidity and temperature during processing and storage can increase mould prevalence and mycotoxin risk. Climate change is yet another contributing factor. Rumen microbes are able to degrade, inactivate and bind my- cotoxins. However, this may lead to a false sense of safety. The extensive diversity of feedstuffs in ruminant diets means these animals tend to have higher levels of exposure to my- cotoxins than animals whose diets are much less varied, such as swine or poultry. Continual high presence of mycotoxins in feed can result in mycotoxins’ metabolites affecting the food chain – for example, the toxicity and carcinogenic effects pre- sented by Aflatoxins. Aflatoxin (AFB1) biotransformation re- sults in a toxic metabolite that is excreted in milk (AFM1), and its by-products can resist heating processes and pasteurisa- tion, presenting a human and animal health concern.
Applied solutions Good silage requires the proper anaerobic condition to be maintained and the successful fermentation of plant sugars into lactic acid. If the fermentation process and the anaerobic envi- ronment are impaired, conditions will favour undesirable micro- bial growth. Appropriate water activity and oxygen tension are necessary to promote the right conditions for lactic acid bacte- ria growth, allowing bacteria in feed to decrease the pH to about 4 and inhibiting development of undesired microbes.
Inoculants Inoculants are a commonly applied solution used to promote the development of lactic acid–producing bacteria and en- hance fermentation. However, misunderstanding surrounding the effects of inoculants on pathogenic bacteria and how they inhibit yeast growth makes their effects questionable. The suc- cessful application of inoculants is dependent on the number of lactic acid bacteria and the concentration of dry matter and sugar content, which need to be exactly right for inoculants to have the desired effect. Such situations rarely occur in practice.
Integrated feed safety approach Ensuring high-quality feed materials and maintaining the nu- tritional value of feedstuffs requires more than a single solu- tion. Applying a product to the silage may positively impact feed quality in the short term but does not offer a long-term solution to maintain quality throughout the entire feed-to- food chain. Trouw Nutrition focused on a holistic approach as it developed a Feed Safety Programme that includes farm audits, crop quality control systems, analytical detection methods and potent blends of buffered organic acids. Implementing a fully integrated feed safety programme ensures early warnings are detected and corrective measures can be introduced in a time- ly manner. Furthermore, it allows for evaluation of the actions taken to prevent reoccurrence of the negative impacts. Offering this total package of services and using a compre- hensive and effective combination of products to prohibit mi- cro-organisms’ growth, as well as applying high-quality myco- toxin binders, has proven to be a valuable solution for many ruminant farms around the globe.
References available upon request. 46 ▶DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 7, No. 3, 2020
PHOTO: TROUW NUTRITION
PHOTO: MARK PASVEER
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